Mechanical directory.



. Patented Apr. 8, |902.

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(No Mndeh) No". 697,380. Patented lApr. 8,1902.

G. W.y MAXWELL. I MECHANICAL DIREC'-I'0HY.v

(Application filed (kris.y 28, *1900.) (-nu nodal.) 2 sheets-snm 2.

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UNITED STATES v PATENT f Orrrcn.

GEORGE W. MAXWELL, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

Ni EC HAN ICAL DIRECTO RY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 697,380, dated April 8, 1902'.

Application filed October 23, 1900.' Serial No. 34,081. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE WASHINGTON MAXWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of Oalifornia,have invented new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Directories, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to a mechanical directory of the type heretofore invented by me and set forth in certain applications for patents which I have iiled in the United States Patent Office as follows: Serial No. 676,132, filed April 1, 1898; renewed August 1, 1900, Serial No. 25,591; Serial No. 684,712, iiled June 29, 1898; renewed August 1, 1900, Serial No. 25,592; Serial No. 705,446, filed February 13, 1899; Serial No. 737,688, filed November 20, 1899, and applications Serial No. 34,079 and Serial No. 34,080, filed contemporaneously herewith.

In some of said former'applications have shown the directory-strips printed upon both sides.

In my present invention the directorystrips are to be printed upon one side only.

An object of my present invention is to provide a very simple and efficient city directory in which the strips Will be printed upon one side'only. In my present invention I employ a plurality of pairs of rollers, strips for said pairs of rollers, respectively, each strip having its ends fastened to the respective rollers of its pair to be wound and unwound from roller to roller. The rollers at one end of the several pairs are connected in a train to simultaneously rotate,and the rollers at the other end of the several pairs are connected to simultaneously rotate,and automatic shifting power-transmitting mechanism is provided for driving one roller of each of the pairs in one direction and at the same time releasing the other roller of veach pair when the prime mover is moved in one direction and to drive the other roller and release the one when the prime mover is moved in the other direction.

Any suitable index may be supplied with this directory,and in the accompanying drawings I have shown an index device corresponding to the index device shown'in application, Serial No. 34,079, tiled contemporaneo'usly herewith.

It is my intention to cover in my said other applications any of my inventions shown in said applications, and for that reason no claim is made herein to any of said inventions.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention. Figure I is a perspective view illustrating the mechanism of my present invention in its directorycase. .The directorystrips are omitted from this view for clearness of illustration. Portions of the case are broken away to expose the operative mechanism, and portions of the sprocketchain are omitted to avoid confusion of lines. Fig. II is a fragmental plan showing in detail the reverselyarranged shifting-clutches,by means of which the power taken from the chain is transferred from driving one set of connected rollers to drive the other set of connectedrollers upon the reversal of the direction of the sprocketchain, which is driven by the prime mover in one and the other direction alternately. Fig. III is an end elevation viewed from the left of Fig. I to illustrate the arrangement of the ribbons and the rollers. Fig. IV is a front elevation of the complete directory.

a a', b b', c c, d d' indicate the rollers of the several pairs.

1 indicates a strip having its ends fastened to the respective rollers a a' of the irst pair to be Wound and unwound from roller to roller. This ribbon is passed in front of the two idlers c e.

2 indicates a strip having its ends fastened to the respective rollers l) b' of the second air. p c e' indicate idlers, in front of which the strip 2 is passed.

3 indicates a strip passed in front of the idlers e e yand fastened at its ends to the rollers c c'. 4 indicates a like strip passed in front of idlers 6" e'" and fastened at its ends to the rollers CZ d', respectively, of the fourth pair of rollers. The axes of each pair of rollers lie in substantially horizontal planes, while the axes of each pair of idlers lie in a substantially vertical plane. For convenience of construction the planes on which the idlers lie are slightly aslant, and the same is true of the planes in which the rollers of each l pair lie; but the arrangement is to be such that the operation of each strip which is held to View between the idlers from which such strip passes will be maintained at an appropriate angle to the line of sight of the person consulting the directory, and the pair of rollers pertaining to such pair of idlers is arranged with the greatest economy of space at the rear of the portion of the strip so exhibited. The rollers at one end of the several pairs are connected in a train for their simultaneous operation.

f f f f" indicate sprocketwheels, respectively, on the rollers a, l), c, and (l. g indicates a sprocket-chain operatively connecting all of these sprocket-wheels for their simultaneous rotation.

h h' h 7L indicate sprocket-wheels on the rollers a', b',c',and d,respectively. indicates a sprocket-chain connecting said sprocketwheels in train for their simultaneous rotation.

j indicates the prime-mover shaft with master sprocket-wheel k, which drivesasprocketchain m.

n indicates a sprocket-wheel furnished with a clutch member o to engage with the roller a to rotate said roller and furnished with a nut p to screw upon a screw-threaded portion q on the shaft of said roller a to shift the wheel n laterally for connection and disconnection of the clutch o. r indicates a smooth cylindrical portion on the shaft of said roller a, on which the nut p will freely rotate when the wheel is fully shifted to the right.

s indicates resilient means for spring-pressing the nut into engagement with the screwthreaded portion q, so that when the wheel n is rotated in one direction the screw will shift the wheel to one side to connect the clutch o to turn the roller a, and when the wheel is rotated in the other direction it will be shifted against the pressure of the spring s until the nut is on the smooth portion of the shaft. rlhe wheel n is furnished with a like clutch member o and nutp, and the roller a is arranged with a screw q and with a smooth portion 1" and with a spring s to normally hold the nut in engagement with the screw-threaded portion, so that when the wheel n' is rotated in the one direction the screw will force the wheel against the pressure of the spring s', thus disconnecting the clutch member o from the roller, and on a reverse movement of the wheel n the nut will screw onto the screw to bring the clutch member into engagement to rotate the roller. The roller-driving sprocketwheels 7L n', with their clutches o 0 and shifting mechanisms p p, q q', r r', .5- s, are reversely arranged, so that when the sprocketchain m moves in one direction the one wheel will be connected with its roller and the other wheel disconnected from its roller, and vice versa on a reverse movement of the chain.

t t indicate idler-wheels for tightening the respective connecting sprocket-chains g g.

u indicates a wheel for properly guiding the sprocket-chain m between the shifting sprocket-wheel n and the master sprocketwheel 7a.

a; c' indicate index-strips operated, respectively, by liexible connections w w', wound upon a diminished portion of the rollers b', so that said index-strips move synchronously with the directory-strips at a very low speed. This feature is fully described and claimed in my application, Serial No. 34,080, filed contemporaneously herewith.

In practice the directory-strips l 2 3 4 will be appropriately printed upon one side with the required information and will be appropriately fastened to their respective rollers.

Preferably each pair of rollers will be furnished with a plurality of strips, (indicated in Fig.1v by 1 1'1", 2 2 2f', s 3 e", 4. 4.' 4.) The middle strips l', 3', and 4' will be for the main directory, each being devoted to an appropriate number of letters of the alphabet. For instance, the strip l for the first pair of rollers will be devoted to the letters from A to C and from D to l-I, the strip 2 for the second pair of rollers will be devoted to the letters from I to L and from M to Q, the strip 3' for the third pair of rollers from R to T and from U to Z. The fourth pair of rollers will be'devoted to a classified directory of businesses and will carry the entire business-list running from A to L and from M to Z in two columns, respectively. Each pair of rollers will carry two supplement-strips, one at one side and the other at the other side of the main directory. The supplement-strip l at the left of the main directory will include the letters from A to C and corresponding to the left column of the main directorystrip l', while at the right side the supplement-strip lH will contain the letters from D to H and corresponds to the right column of the main directory-strip, and so on throughout, the several pairs of rollers being .respectively furnished with supplement-ribbons l l", 2 2", 3 3", and 4 4, so that each column of each main directory-strip will have adjacent to it a column of the supplementstrip. The purpose of the supplement-strip is to allow frequent additions to show the changes of address that occur. The main directory-strip lwill be reprinted at less frequent intervals of time than will the supplement-strips, so that in practice the main directory-strip will be printed from a canvass of the city made, say, once a year or more frequently,while the supplement directory-Strip will be printed at much more frequent inter- Vals-say monthly, bimonthly, trimonthly, or semimonthly, as may be found most advisableand will include only the changes. The supplement-strips are of the same length as the main strips, and the names therefor will be located thereon so as to appear at the front simultaneously with the like names on the main strip.

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In practical use the userwll turn the crank of the prime mover, thus running the chain m in the direction required to turn the directory-strips so as to bring the desired initial into View. When a reversal'of the machine is required, the crank is'simply reversed and the reversing mechanism is'brought into operation, as above described, thereby turning all of the directory-strips in the opposite drection to bring the appropriate name into view.

The machine will be ordinarily operated to drive all the strips ata high speed, and the eye of the user will bedirected to the slowlymoving index-strip o or o, as the case may be,

to note the required initial character, which will appear simultaneously with the appearkancefof the same initial in the supplement and main directory-strip for which the index is arranged.-

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters-Patent of the United States, is-

l. The combination of a plurality of pairs of rollers; strips for said pairs of rollers respectively, each strip having its ends fas-V tened to the respective rollers of its pair to be wound and unwound from roller to roller; means connecting` a train of rollers, which train comprises one roller Vof each of said pairs for the simultaneous rotation of one roller of each of `said pairs; means connectinga train of rollers which comprises the' other roller of each of said pairs respectively for the simultaneous rotation' of the vsaid other rollers ofthe several pairs; a wheel furnished with a'clutch member and having;

a rotary and alateral movement; means operativelyconnected with the first-named train to Yshift said wheel laterally to operatively connectit to drive said first-named train when said wheel is rotated in one direction and to disconnect said wheel from said first-namedl train when the Wheel is rotated in the other direction; a Wheel having a lateral and a rotary movement and arranged for operative connection with the second named train; means for shifting said wheel laterally to operatively connect it to drive said secondnamed train when the wheel is rotated-in one direction and to disconnect it from said train when the wheel is rotated in the other direction; and means operatively connected 'with' said wheels and having aV movement in oneY and the other direction to turn one of said wheels in one direction and the other in the other direction-to drive one train and release the other, and vice versa.

2. `The combination of a plurality of pairs of rollers; strips for said pairs of rollers respectively, each strip Vhaving its ends fastened to the respective rollers of its pair to be wound -and unwound from roller' to roller;- meansY connecting a train of rollers, whichr train comprises one roller of each of said pairs for the simultaneous rotation of one roller of each of said pairs; means connecting a train of rollers which comprises the other roller of each of said pairs lrespectively for the simul- .means for shifting said sprocket-wheel laterallyto operatively connect it to drive said second-named train when the sprocket-wheell ,is rotated in one direction and to disconnect it from said trainV when the sprocket-wheel is rotated in the other direction; la master Vsprocket-wheel; and a sprocket -chain' 'led around said master sprocket -wheel and `'around said sprocket-Wheels for theirsimultaneous rotation in one and the other direction.

3. The combination of a plurality of pairs of rollers; strips for said` pairs ofgrollers re- =spectively, each strip havingits' ends fastened to the respective rollers of its pair to be wound 'and unwound-from roller to roller; means connec'ting a train of rollers, which train comprises one roller of each of said pairs for the simultaneous rotation of one roller of each ofv said pairs.; meansv connecting a train ofroll- IOO ers which comprises the other roller of said 'pairs respectively for the simultaneous rotation `ofthe said other'roller of the several pairs; a shaft operatively connectedwith one of said trainsland furnished with a screw- `threaded portionv and with a plain portion;

a wheel furnished with a nut to screw onto and off of lsaidscrew-threadedportion and to rotate freely on said unthre'adedportion; re-

silient means to throw the wheel onto the screw-threaded portion; a clutch for connecting the wheel and the ysha-ft for the rotation of the shaft when the nut is screwed'upon the screw and to disconnect the same when the nut is-'upon the plain portion; a shaft connected with the other train to rotate therewith `and furnishedvwith a screw-threaded portion and a plain portion; awheelfurnished Vwith a nut to screw upon said screw and to rotate upon said plain portion and furnished with a clutch member for connecting said wheel with said shaft when the nut is screwed upon the screw-threaded portion and discon-A necting the wheel when the nut is upon the smooth portion; resilient means for holding the nut against the end of thejscrew; and means adapted vto'be turned in'one and the other direction and connected with saidV Wheels to turn' one in the o ne direction to screw it vupon the screw and the other in the other direction to unscrew it from its screw, and vice versa.

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4. The combination of a plurality of pairs of rollers; strips for said pairs of rollers respectively, each strip havingits ends fastened to the respective rollers of its pair to be wound and unwound from roller to roller; means connecting a train of rollers, which train comprises one roller of each of said pairs for the simultaneous rotation of one roller of each of said pairs; means connecting a train of rollers which comprises the other roller of said pairs respectively for the simultaneous rotation of the said other roller of the several pairs; a shaft operatively connected with one of said trains and furnished with a screwthreaded portion and with a plain portion; a wheel furnished with a nut to screw onto and off of said screw-threaded portion and to rotate freely on said unthreaded portion; resilient means to throw the Wheel onto the screw; a clutch for connecting the Wheel and the shaft for the rotation of the shaft when the nut is screwed upon the screw and to disconnect the same when the nut is upon the plain portion; a shaft connected with the other train to rotate therewith and furnished With a screw-threaded portion and a plain portion; a wheel furnished with a nut to screw upon said screw and to rotate upon said plain portion and furnished with a clutch member for connecting said wheel with said shaft when the nut is screwed upon the screw-threaded portion and disconnecting the Wheel when the nut is upon the smooth portion; resilient means for holding the nut against the endl 5. The combination of a frame; a plurality of rollers arranged in two rows and in a plurality of pairs; means operatively connecting the rollers of one row in a train for their simultaneous rotation; means operatively connecting the rollers of the other row in a train for their simultaneous operation; a row of idlers arranged in front of one of said rows of rollers, and in pairs, the pairs of idlers being devoted to and arranged in front of the pairs of rollers, respectively; strips for the pairs of rollers, respectively, each strip being led in front of its respect-ive pair of idlers and fastened at its ends respectively to the rollers of its pair; and automatic reversing means for simultaneously driving one train of roll ers, and releasing the other train of rollers, and vice versa.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specication, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, at Los Angeles, California, this 16th day of October, 1000.

GEO. W. MAXVELL.

Witnesses:

JAMES R. ToWNsEND, JULIA ToWNsEND. 

